


Mending Loneliness

by bashfulglowfly



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M, Family, Love, friends - Freeform, relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-20
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-06-09 13:11:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6908539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bashfulglowfly/pseuds/bashfulglowfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Usagi doesn't want Mamoru to be alone any more so she finds and awakens the Shitennou.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Saturday 10:11 a.m.

Soichiro Sakurazuka settled in for a long study session.  It was quieter here amongst the stacks in the public library than it was at the library at school or in the dorms.  Admittedly, he didn’t really mind helping out his schoolmates with their schoolwork but it did get tiresome sometimes.  And he wanted to go over the biology paper that was due in four weeks.  Just because it was its fifth draft didn’t mean there wasn’t something wrong with it.

 

“Hi!” chirped a cheerful voice.

 

Soichiro took deep breaths to calm his pounding heart.  This was the first time ever that someone…anyone…had ever found him here.

 

He looked up and found himself staring at a girl with the longest hair he’d ever seen.  He figured that if she undid the round balls on either side of her head, it would probably reach the floor.

 

“Hi!” repeated the girl, bouncing on her heels.

 

“Um…hello.” He said awkwardly.

 

“I’m Usagi!  And you are?”

 

“Busy.”  He tried to sound gruff to scare her away.  He knew his looks wouldn’t do it.  His strawberry-blond hair and bottle green eyes accompanied by delicate features were a long way from scary.

 

It didn’t work.

 

Usagi grinned.  “’Busy’, huh?  Strange name.  Hopefully it’s a nickname not your real name.  Otherwise one would think that your parents _really_ hated you before you were even born.”

 

Soichiro glared at her.  “What do you want?”

 

She shrugged and looked around.  “Isn’t it a bit lonely here?”

 

It was Soichiro’s turn to shrug.  “Maybe I like being alone.”

 

Usagi shook her head.  “No.  You don’t.”

 

Soichiro stared at her.  It was obvious that she was younger than he was.  Perhaps a middle school student.  But for a brief moment, she had looked…timeless.

 

“I don’t like being alone?” he scoffed.  “Then why am I here…alone.”

 

She smiled.  “Because you haven’t found the right people to be with yet.”

 

“And who are they?”

 

She smiled, this time a sad smile.  “You aren’t ready for their names.  Yet, at least.”  She leaned forward and crooked her finger at him.  Soichiro leaned close as she whispered.  “Many things have been done, both good and bad.  They will hurt when you remember, but when all is said and done.  You will be happy.”

 

Soichiro leaned back in his chair and snorted with disgust.  “You can’t promise happiness.”

 

Usagi stood up and walked to his side and stared down at him.  Her blue eyes were calm.  “You’re right.  I can’t promise happiness.  But, you can strive for it.”

 

Soichiro opened his mouth to reply but Usagi reached out and touched him on the forehead between his eyes.  White light flared across his vision.  “Dream well, Zoicite.”

 

When he was able to see again, Usagi was gone.


	2. Saturday 11:52 a.m.

Jun Yamamoto jogged to the side of the field, intent on grabbing something to drink.

 

“Here!”  A young girl held out an icy bottle of water.

 

“Thanks.” Muttered Jun as he untwisted the top and downed half the bottle.  He eyed the girl before him.  He was used to all sorts of girls coming up and hitting on him but this was one of the youngest.  She had to be in middle school.  Way too young for him.

 

“Terrific goal.  You did an excellent job out there.” She grinned up at him, her blond hair blowing in the slight breeze.

 

He downed the rest of the bottle and tossed it in the recycle bin.  “Thanks.”

 

She tilted her head.  “Good footwork and timing.”

 

Jun sat down and began retying his shoes.  She sat down next to him.  “Do you play?” he asked.

 

The girl laughed depreciatingly and waved a hand.  “No.  Not unless you want to see the ball bounce off my face four or five times a game.  But I really admire Sawa-san.”  She giggled.  “Actually, there are a lot of people that I admire.  Too many probably.”

 

Jun grinned.  The kid was cute, in a younger sister sort of way.

 

She looked at him.  “How come you didn’t celebrate with your teammates?  You tied the game.”

 

Jun felt something work down his spine.  It was strange but the direct look her blue eyes gave him made him feel uncomfortable.  He grabbed another bottle of water.  “I don’t know.”

 

The girl stared out over the field but he knew that her attention was still on him.  “Perhaps it’s because they really don’t feel like they’re your team.”

 

Affronted, Jun spoke, his voice cold.  “We’ve played together for three years now.”

 

The girl shrugged.  “I’ve known my friends for two years now and sometimes I don’t always feel like I’m a part of them.”  She gave him a sideways look.  “I’m not very smart and I’m clumsy.”

 

“They don’t say that to your face do they?”

 

The girl shrugged one shoulder.  “Sometimes.  But I know they mean well.  They want me to do my best.”

 

Jun placed his hand on her shoulder.  “But they shouldn’t belittle you.”

 

The girl shrugged again.

 

“What’s your name?” Jun asked.

 

“Usagi.  And you are Yamamoto-san.”

 

“How’d you…” then he realized that his teammates had called out his name during the course of play.

 

“Curious.  You’ve known them for three years yet they still call you by your family name.”

 

Jun tensed.  “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

 

Usagi turned and looked him in the eyes.  “But don’t you want to be with people who will call you by your name…your REAL name?”

 

He was lost in that sea of blue that was her eyes.  “Yes.” He whispered.

 

He felt her touch him between the eyes.  And her whisper in his ear.  “Then Dream well, Jadeite.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Sawa-san is Homare Sawa. Captain of the Japanese Women’s Football team who won the FIFA World Cup in 2011.


	3. Saturday 2:33 p.m.

Nobuyuki Takaki reached for the paper that had floated beneath the telescope supports.  He cursed the paper, he cursed his height and he cursed the fact that everything was made for people who were of average height.  Which was about 4 inches shorter than he was.

 

“Want me to get that?”

 

The voice startled Nobuyuki so much that he straightened far too soon and slammed his head against the telescope supports.  He cursed aloud violently.

 

He managed to crawl out from underneath.  One hand clutching both the stray paper and his head.  He turned towards the sound of the strange voice and saw a young girl standing, staring at him with eyes and mouth wide open.

 

“Do…do I even want to know the meaning of ANY of what you just said?” she asked.

 

“No.” he said bluntly.  He started to toss the paper onto the table but, not wanting to chase it again, slapped it down instead, placing a stapler on top to make sure it didn’t get away again.  He went over to the girl and loomed over her.  “Who are you?  How did you get in here?”

 

Normally that was an effective tactic but this girl was fearless…or stupid.  She stood her ground and tilted her head back as far as it would go so she could look up at him.  “I’m Usagi.  And the door was open, so I just came in.”

 

Nobuyuki looked at the door.  “It’s closed.”

 

“Well, yeah!  I closed it when I saw that it was causing you to chase papers.”  Her large blue eyes were utter innocence.

 

“Well, you aren’t supposed to be here.” Came his dark reply.

 

“Yet here I am.”  Usagi ducked around him and bounced up to the telescope.  “What are you looking at?”

 

“Don’t touch anything!” came Nobuyuki’s startled yelp.

 

“I won’t.” And as if to calm him down, she clasped her hands behind her back.  “How do you look through this?”

 

Nobuyuki approached her.  “You look through here.”  He pointed to the eyepiece.  He almost growled when he saw that she had to stand on tiptoes to look through it.  Life just wasn’t fair.

 

“Oh!  It’s Jupiter!” came the delighted exclamation.

 

He was startled.  He didn’t expect her to recognize it right off the bat.  Many people her age and older wouldn’t.  “You know Jupiter.”

 

She turned away from the telescope, eyes twinkling.  “I know Jupiter _quite_ well.”

 

 _Okay, she’s weird._   He thought.

 

She jumped up on the table, hands resting at her sides, feet swinging.  “You’re looming again.  Why don’t you sit down?”  He did so, eyeing her warily.  She giggled.  “I don’t bite.”

 

Nobuyuki couldn’t look away from her.  There was just something about her that made him want to be near her.  Not something sexual.  No…she made him…she made him… _feel good about himself._

 

“Do you hear the stars?”

 

Her question startled out of his musing.  “What?”

 

“Do you hear the stars?” she asked again.

 

“Uh…no.”

 

“Would you like to?”

 

“Stars don’t talk.”

 

“Oh, I think that they’d disagree with you.  I think you would disagree with you.”

 

“How can I disagree with myself?”

 

Usagi slid off the table and stood before him and smiled.  “Because you are not the Real You, Nephrite.” And touched him between the eyes.

 

“Takaki-san?  Takaki-san?  Are you alright?”

 

Nobuyuki blinked and saw his co-worker.  The blond girl was gone.  “The girl.  The blond girl.  Where did she go?”

 

“What blond girl?”

 

Nobuyuki rubbed his forehead.  He was certain that he hadn’t been hallucinating.

 

“You’ve been working awfully hard on this latest project.  Perhaps you fell asleep and were dreaming.”

 

Nobuyuki sighed.  “Perhaps you are right, Meioh-san.”


	4. Saturday 4:00 p.m.

The smell of coffee and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies wafted past his nose.  Kazuya Tsukino straightened up from his computer and saw his young cousin holding a carrying tray with two cups in one hand and a bag in the other.

 

She waved the bag at him.  “Brought you something.”

 

He smiled at her and saved his work before turning to face her.  She set one cup in front of him.  “Black.”

 

“Thanks.  How many cookies did you get?”

 

“A dozen.”

 

He reached out a long arm and took the bag from her.  He ignored her squawk, reached in the bag and grabbed two cookies, setting them on a napkin before handing the bag back to her.  “I’ll take a couple before you devour them all.” He smiled at her pout.  “What are you doing here?”

 

“Do I have to have a reason to come see you?”

 

“When you come to see me at work, yes.”

 

“It’s Saturday.”

 

“Yes.  Lots of people work on Saturday, you know.”

 

“You don’t have to.  You’re the only one here.”

 

“I’m the youngest in the firm.  It looks good.  Besides, this is an important project.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“An office complex.  I’m trying to make it as safe as possible against earthquakes and tsunamis.”

 

“Where is it going to be built?”

 

“Sendai.”

 

“Oh.” 

 

Kazuya reached over and poked at Usagi.  He didn’t like it when she got sad looks on her face.  He knew that she felt things too much.

 

“So.  What’s the real reason you are here?”

 

She chewed on her lip for a moment.  “Do you think I’m too old to learn karate?”

 

Kazuya leaned back in his chair.  “Is someone bothering you at school?  Is that why you want to learn?”

 

“Nooo.” Came the unhelpful reply.

 

“So why do you want to learn karate now?”  It was going to be interesting to hear her answer.  She came up with some amazing reasons for wanting to do things sometimes.

 

“I just want to become stronger.  Disciplined.  Focused.”  She looked at that.  “Karate helps you do that, right?”

 

“Yes.  It does.  But I still don’t understand why you want to start learning now.”

 

“It’s complicated.”

 

“Uncomplicate it for me then.”

 

“I can’t.  Not just yet.”

 

Kazuya sighed.  He could tell that he wasn’t going to get anywhere with her for the moment.  “I heard that you are seeing some nasty disgusting boy.”

 

Usagi laughed.  “You’ve been talking to Daddy again.”

 

“He’s not happy.  He said that this boy is much older than you.”

 

“He’s a second year at Moto-Azabu High.”

 

“He is too old for you.”

 

She smiled.  “In a few years, it won’t matter.  We’ll be perfect.”

 

Kazuya repressed a sigh.  Usagi had a romantic heart.  Just because this boy loved her now, didn’t mean that he’d love her forever.  But he couldn’t bring himself to say that.  But he would be there for her to lean on when it was needed.  He just hoped that the boy would make things interesting when he had to go and kick the boy’s ass…if Uncle Kenji hadn’t already killed him.

 

“Do you think that there is something missing in your life, Kazuya-nii?”

 

THAT surprised him.  “No, I don’t think so.  Why do you ask?”

 

She rested her head on his desk.  “Because I have lots of friends.  Friends who love and care for me and want me to do my best.  But you and Mamo-chan are alone.”

 

 _Mamo-chan?  Oh, the boyfriend._   “We’re both alone?”

 

Usagi nodded.  “Yes.”  She smiled.  “You should meet him.  I think that you’ll find you have a lot in common.”

 

Kazuya laughed.  “I don’t think that I will have a lot in common with a high-school boy.”  Then he blinked.  Usagi was different.  She looked… _ageless_. 

 

She smiled mischievously.  “I think you’ll find different.”  She bounced out of her chair and over to his side.  “You better come over for dinner soon or Mama will call and start scolding you.”  She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead.

 

Kazuya blinked away the whiteness from his eyes.  Usagi must have had something shiny on her that reflected the sun.  “I’ll come over soon.”

 

“See you later, Kunzite!” she waved as she ran from his office.

 

“See you soon!”  Kazuya smiled, stuffed half of a cookie in his mouth, sipped some of the coffee and turned back to his work.


	5. Dreamtime

Kazuya retched but nothing came up.  He breathed deeply for a moment until he was sure his stomach was settled then opened his eyes.

 

He was not in his bedroom.

 

He turned around looking.  It was white all around him.  “What the…”

 

“…fuck am I?”

 

Kazuya turned towards the voice.  It was a man with long brown hair and brown eyes.  Perhaps an inch or so shorter than he was.  “Good question.” Kazuya said.

 

The man turned and looked at him, surprise all over his face.  “I saw you.  I just saw you.  We were fighting…”

 

A moan interrupted him.  “Did someone get the license of the train that just hit me?”  It was a man with short blond hair.

 

“He wasn’t here a second ago.” Said the brown-haired man.  “What the hell is going on here?”

 

Then a man…no a teenager with long strawberry blond hair materialized in front of them.  The boy was curled in a ball and was shivering.  Kazuya knelt down and carefully touched his back.  The boy curled tighter at his touch.  The boy was real.  “It’s okay.  You’re safe.  It’s okay.” He said softly.

 

“It’s not okay.  I betrayed her.  We betrayed all of them.”

 

The first blond man spoke. “What is he talking about?”

 

Then the memories hit them.

 

Kunzite barely kept himself from curling up like Zoicite.  Nephrite wasn’t much better and Jadeite had his face on his knees.

 

“I’m sorry.” Came a soft voice from behind them.

 

Kunzite looked over his shoulder.  It was Usagi…no, not Usagi.  This was Serenity, Princess of the Moon.  Beloved of Endymion, Prince of Earth.  Their Master.

 

He staggered to his feet, pulling Zoicite up with him.  Nephrite and Jadeite moved to his side.  They stared at the princess for a moment then, as one, went to one knee in front of her, heads bowed.

 

Serenity giggled.  “Oh, stand up!  You don’t need to bow in front of me.  The girls certainly don’t.”

 

Kunzite frowned.  “Well, they should.  You are their princess.”

 

“Not a very good one, sometimes.” She replied.

 

“Doesn’t matter, they should respect you.”

 

“Respect should be earned.”  She tugged lightly on a strand of hair.  “I haven’t earned it all the way, not yet at least.”

 

Jadeite pointed at her.  “You!  You were the girl at the field yesterday.  Was it yesterday?  Where are we?”

 

“It was yesterday.” She confirmed.  “I met with all of you yesterday.  And this place?”  She gestured to the vast white expanse all around them.  “This is Dreamtime.”

 

Zoicite looked at her.  “Australian Aboriginal mythology.”

 

Serenity shook her head.  “No, they have a different Dreamtime.  There are many types of Dreamtime.  This one is ours.”

 

Nephrite spoke “Why are we here?  Why did you wake us up?  We were happy before we knew that we betrayed our Prince and the rest of you…twice.”

 

“Pfft!” She waved a hand dismissively.  “You didn’t betray anyone.  Don’t you remember?  Beryl capturing you?  Beryl torturing you?  Beryl using the blackest of magic against you?  As for ‘twice’ that was because Mother made a teeny tiny mistake when she used the _Ginzuishou_.  Of course, she was dying at the time so I think she should be forgiven for that.”

 

“So why did you wake us up?” asked Zoicite.

 

“Because Dimi is lonely.  He needs you.” Came her simple reply.

 

“He needs us?”

 

Serenity nodded vigorously.  “Yes, I have the girls to talk with.  And while he has me, he also needs others that he can confide in.  One’s who will understand everything that he’s gone thro…”

 

She whirled around, staring at something they couldn’t see.

 

Then before their eyes a young man with dark hair appeared.  He wore midnight and silver armor.

 

He was weeping.

 

Serenity dropped to her knees next to him, wrapping her arms around him, pulling his head to her breast.  “Dimi.  Oh, Dimi!  What’s wrong?”

 

Endymion shuddered and wrapped his arms around Serenity, burying his face against her neck and holding her close.  “I had a horrible dream.  The worst ever.”

 

“What was it, darling?”

 

“The Shitennou.  MY Shitennou.  My friends.  I saw what Beryl did to them.  I’m not even going to describe what she did.  You shouldn’t know.  You should never know that people who can do things like that exist.  I thought they betrayed me.  That they betrayed all of us.  I cursed them.  I hated them.  I wanted to kill them.  But it wasn’t their fault.  It was never their fault.  I blamed them.  I blamed them!”

 

“Shhhh.”  Serenity rocked him back and forth.  “Shhh.  It’s alright.  It’s alright.  They forgive you.”  She looked over her shoulder at the four men giving them a look that clearly said ‘You better forgive him.’

 

“How can I know that?  How will I know that?”  He straightened up and looked at her.  His midnight eyes begging.

 

Serenity stroked his cheek.  “Soon, my love.  You will find out soon.”  She pulled him back into her arms.  “Go back to sleep now.  Sleep.  Everything will be better and we’ll talk in the morning.”

 

“Promise?” 

 

Serenity smiled at his tone.  It was similar to that of a young child needing reassurance.  “I promise.” She said softly.  “Sleep now.”  She held him until he disappeared completely from her arms.

 

Kunzite walked over and helped her up.  She looked up at him.  “See.  I told you he needed you.”

 

“Okay.  You were right.”  He pulled her close in a hug.  “So, how are we going to meet him in Real Life.”

 

“Oh, that’s easy.”  Serenity pulled away and bounced on her toes.  “Meet us at Arisugawa-no-miya Park.  Around noon.”

 

“How will we find you?” asked Zoicite.

 

Serenity smiled.  Whiteness began to wash over all of them.  “Listen to your heart!” she called.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note: I have seen Endymion’s name shorted to Dimi in a few other fan fiction stories and I like it a lot better than Endy. But recently I learned that Dimi is a pet name for the Russian name Dmitriy that means “loves the earth” or “follower of Demeter.” Which fits rather well. Dimi is also a short form of the Aramaic name Avdimi which means “destruction, loss” which, sadly, also fits.


	6. Sunday 12:00 p.m.

Four men arrived at the same time at the main gate.  One with silver hair, one with brown and two with varying shades of blond.  They stood and stared at each other for a moment then burst into laughter and clasped arms in the way of warriors and longtime friends.

 

“I thought that I’d gone insane.” Admitted Nephrite.

 

Zoicite nodded.  “So did I.”

 

“Serenity, or Usagi as she is known now, is my cousin, so I went crazy a long time ago.” Said Kunzite dryly.

 

“Her name is Usagi now?  My name is Jun.  Jun Yamamoto.” Said Jadeite.

 

“Kazuya Tsukino.”

 

“Nobuyuki Takaki.”

 

“Soichiro Sakurazuka.”  Zoicite looked around.  “So, where should we start looking?”

 

“Serenity said to follow our hearts.” Said Nephrite.  “So I guess we should start walking.”

 

“We’ve all seen the Senshi on TV but I’ve never seen Serenity with them.” Said Jadeite.

 

“Yeah.  Where did this Sailor Moon come from?  I don’t remember her.” Zoicite frowned thoughtfully.

 

Kunzite laughed.  “We don’t remember her because Sailor Moon didn’t exist back in the Silver Millennium.  Don’t you remember?”

 

Nephrite snapped his fingers together.  “That’s right, Serenity was supposed to be Sailor Moon but because there had been peace for so long and Serenity didn’t like fighting, the Queen agreed that she didn’t have to become Sailor Moon.  So Venus became the leader of the Senshi.”

 

“And now I know why Usagi came to me yesterday asking about karate lessons.” Said Kunizte.

 

Jadeite looked at him.  “Well, you have to admit that Sailor Moon does need some help.”

 

Kunzite stopped, shock written across his face.  “That’s why she’s so bad at it now.  She never learned to fight in the first place.  The other Senshi are relying on what they were taught in the past but Sailor Moon doesn’t even have that to fall back on!”

 

Nephrite nodded.  “And the other Senshi don’t know how to train her because they were still learning themselves!”

 

“Remember what our Weaponsmaster used to say?  ‘It’s not the best fighter you have to fear, it’s the worst because you can’t predict what he’s going to do.’  Her unpredictability works when she’s fighting a monster because it can’t predict what she’s going to do.” Zoicite nodded as he said it.

 

Jadeite ran a hand through his hair.  “But it works against the other Senshi because they can’t predict where Sailor Moon is going to be at any given moment.  So that’s why they have problems.”

 

Kunzite began walking again.  “We can help them with that.  I know we can.”

 

As the men walked through the park, they discussed how they were going to help the Senshi learn to work together.

 

“Of course, all this is purely theoretical.” Said Zoicite.

 

“What do you mean?” asked Jadeite.

 

“He means that if the Senshi take one look at us and kill us, it’s not going to matter.” Said Nephrite.  “Where the hell are those two anyway?”

 

“They’re up there.”  Kunzite pointed towards a tree on a small hill.  “Oh, HELL no!”  He transformed into his uniform, a sword appeared in his hand and he began striding up the hill.

 

The others had seen what Kunzite had seen and transformed as well.  “We better stop him.” Said Nephrite, running to catch up with their leader.

 

“Oh this is going to be fun!” said Jadeite.

 

The two youngest Shitennou grinned at each other and ran after their older brothers.


	7. Sunday 12 p.m.

Mamoru and Usagi walked through Arisugawa-no-miya Park hand in hand.  Usagi loved the feel of his hand in hers, the warmth and the gentle power.  She smiled as he gently squeezed her hand.

 

“I had a bad dream last night.”  He announced.  He had promised a while back that he would tell her about his dreams instead of dwelling on them.  She wasn’t going through another break-up like the last time because of a stupid dream.

 

He didn’t say anything for a moment.  She waited patiently.  She knew that he was a rather private person.  It was difficult for him to open up.

 

“It was when I was Prince Endymion.  When Atlantis existed.  Before and after I met you.  Before Beryl…” his voice hardened.  “…destroyed everything.”  He was silent for moment longer.  “I remembered the first time I met the Shitennou.  Kunzite – he already seemed older than he should.  Nephrite – he told me stories about the stars.  Jadeite and Zoicite – we were the closest in age so we got in a lot of trouble together.”  He laughed.  “If Kunzite’s hair hadn’t already been silver; we probably would have made it turn that color.

 

“I remembered studying history, politics, mathematics…” he smiled when Usagi wrinkled her nose.  “We studied all sorts of things including weapons and tactics since we all were going to be kings.  Then you came, followed by your Senshi.  And even though it was forbidden, we fell in love with you.

 

“Then Beryl began spreading her poison.  Her lies.  You know what happened next.  But this time my dream showed me the Shitennou at the time of the last battle on Earth.  I thought that I had run, but Kunzite had hit me on the head and they all used their powers to send me to the Moon.  I thought that I was a coward.  But they were trying to save me.  They were going to kill themselves but Beryl’s forces overwhelmed them.

 

“I won’t describe what happened to them next.  Beryl tortured them.  I don’t EVER want you to know what she did to them.  But she broke them, one by one she broke them.  She brainwashed them and forced them to do her bidding.  And when they woke again in this time, she used them again.”

 

“I’m sorry, Mamo-chan.”  Usagi’s voice was soft.

 

Mamoru turned and pulled her close.  “I know.”  He pressed his face against her hair.  “I just wish that I could have a chance to apologize to them.  I blamed them for so much then and now.  I just really want to apologize.”

 

Usagi pulled back a little and smiled up at him.  “You’ll have that chance.  I promise.”

 

Mamoru laughed.  “Promising impossible things now are you?”

 

Usagi merely smiled.

 

She captivated him.  She had captivated him a thousand years ago and he knew that she would still captivate him a thousand years from now.  Gently he lowered her to the grass and began to stretch out on top of her.  As he lowered his body against hers, he leaned in to…and felt the cold kiss of steel against his throat.

 

Mamoru cursed himself for being unaware of an Enemy nearby.  He could see that Usagi’s eyes were opened wide but she wasn’t screaming or trying to fight, which was a good thing considering how close the edge of the blade was to his veins.

 

“Shame on you, my prince.”  Mamoru felt his own eyes widen.  He _knew_ that voice.  “You shouldn’t allow yourself to be caught unaware like that.”

 

“I didn’t feel the need to be wary in such a safe place.” Said Mamoru.

 

“That’s what he said the last time we caught him and the princess like this, wasn’t it.”  Mamoru swallowed carefully.  He knew that voice too.

 

“Well, at least this time his pants aren’t around his ankles.” Came a third familiar voice.

 

Mamoru almost groaned.  He waited for the fourth voice he just _knew_ he was going hear.

 

“How do you think we should punish him for not paying attention to his surroundings?  I vote that we make him run around the park four or five times screaming ‘I will pay attention to my surroundings.’”  Yep, there was the fourth voice he was waiting for.

 

A damned peanut gallery surrounded him.

 

Usagi scowled.  “All of you stop picking on him!  REALLY!”

 

 _Okay, this is getting weirder.  She’s not afraid of them._   Mamoru braced himself on his left hand and with his right, reached up, placed his hand on Kunzite’s arm and tried to push it way.  It didn’t move.  Mamoru sighed.  He placed his arm along the length of Kunzite’s and leaned.  He felt the muscles tense as he pulled himself up, using Kunzite’s arm and getting his own feet underneath him.  Kunzite’s other hand gripped his upper right arm while Jadeite pulled up on his left.  They held him for a moment until he was steady on his feet.

 

Nephrite picked up Usagi and brushed her off.

 

Usagi glared up at Kunzite.  “Remove that sword from his throat.  NOW!”

 

Mamoru saw Kunzite glance at him.  “Have you learned your lesson, my Prince?”

 

Mamoru grinned.  “Probably not.  She’s damned distracting.”  He didn’t see the blade move but he certainly felt the flat of it as it thumped soundly on his backside.  He managed not to yelp.  Barely.  He remembered what happened if he yelped.

 

Usagi still glared at Kunzite.  “He’s your prince, you really shouldn’t treat him that way.”

 

“A boy’s ears are in his backside; he listens better for being beaten.” Said Kunzite coolly.  “Besides, YOU are underage and if he thinks he’s going to do ANYTHING to my precious little cousin, he has another thing coming.”

 

Mamoru stifled a groan.  _He’s her cousin?!  I’m never going to be able to…_   He wrenched his mind from those thoughts; he couldn’t be sure if Kunzite could read minds or not.  _He_ always _seemed to know what I was thinking before._

 

He looked at his Shitennou.  They moved until they were side by side then went to one knee.  “My loyalty, my service and my life are yours.”  They chorused together.

 

Mamoru felt himself change into Endymion.  “I accept your loyalty, your service and your lives.”  He pulled his sword and laid the flat of the blade on each of their shoulders.

 

“Since _that_ little show is out of the way, will you _please_ transform back into normal people so we can go somewhere else and talk.”

 

Endymion and his Shitennou spun and stared at the four girls standing not to far away.  Endymion relaxed his transformation.  Mamoru and Kazuya gave Usagi a hard look.  She shrugged unapologetically.  “You know I can’t keep anything from them.  Besides, I Showed them the Truth about a week ago.  They’ve been waiting for you.”

 

Rei stomped forward and before Jun could react, she slapped him across the face.  He stared at her like she was insane.  “WOMAN!” he thundered.  “What the hell was that for?!”

 

Rei glared back, violet eyes flashing, her hands on her hips.  “That’s for dying before I could kill you!”

 

A collective groan came from the other Senshi and Shitennou.  Minako looked at Kazuya as the arguing pair was herded towards the entrance of the park, “Some things never change.”

 

Kazuya smiled down at her.  “Is that a bad thing?” He took hold of her hand.

 

She leaned her head on his shoulder.  “No.  No, it isn’t.  We aren’t going to be lonely any more.”

 

“None of us will.” Said Ami.

 

Makoto smiled at them from around Nobuyuki.  “Loneliness mended is loneliness vanished.”

 

Minako glared at her, outraged.  “HEY!  _I’m_ the one that’s supposed to be making things up, not you!”

 

Laughter echoed up to the sun.


End file.
